Article contributed by Madalena Daleziou
Released two years after the first instalment of the new The Book of Dust trilogy and almost two decades after His Dark Materials trilogy, The Secret Commonwealth might be the most complex addition to Lyra’s world so far.
In The Amber Spyglass, we saw a chapter in Lyra’s life coming to an end. It was a satisfying, justified, if heart-breaking conclusion. One thing, however, was clear; while a circle closed for Lyra, a new season was beginning, full of learning, inspired by her wish to lead a fulfilling life and inspire others to do the same. Such an ending is full of possibilities, leaving the reader with the impression that the characters live on after the book.
As is the case with most beloved book series, many fans craved yet another book about Lyra. While Pullman did release a short story called Lyra’s Oxford (2003), and another one, Serpentine, in 2020 as we wait for the third Book of Dust instalment, The Secret Commonwealth is the first full-length book about Lyra since The Amber Spyglass. With La Belle Sauvage (2017) focusing on a new character, Malcolm, who embarked on a perilous journey to protect Lyra when she was a baby, we had to wait a long time to find out more about Lyra’s future. As it turns out, The Secret Commonwealth was worth the wait.
As early as chapter 1, we are re-introduced to twenty-year old Lyra, now a university student. Clearly, she has grown in many ways. While she started His Dark Materials without close female friends and resistant to the influence of women in her life, the adult Lyra attends a girls’ college, is friendly with her old caretaker, Alice Lonsdale, and studies to the alethiometer under the tutelage of Hannah Relf. The core aspects that made her unique, such as her adventurous spirit, her creativity and curiosity are initially toned down. But the biggest change is her relationship with her daemon, Pan. While The Amber Spyglass left them in relatively good terms, Lyra’s choices have changed their dynamic forever. In stark contrast to the comfort and warmth they once shared, most of their interactions in The Secret Commonwealth are forced and awkward. They no longer truly listen to each other, and Pan doesn’t like the woman Lyra is becoming as he thinks she has lost her imagination, and sense of wonder.
Pan is not completely wrong. The almost ten-year lapse has changed Lyra. She is no longer the girl who found joy in every aspect of her journey. She has grown serious, melancholic and firmly grounded in the non-magical aspects of her world. The magic and wonder she once took for granted are questioned and replaced by obscure philosophical ideas that Pan hates. But the unimaginative books that make Lyra a sceptic – while deepening her rift with Pan – are far from their only problem. As a child, Lyra altered the fate of all worlds and survived the theocratic Magisterium’s deathly plots against her. This doesn’t mean she’s safe. The murder she and Pan witness early on shows that the stakes are high as ever. People are still persecuted, and the world has taken a sudden interest in a type of rose that grows in the deserts of Lop Nor and is rumoured to be associated with the Dust, a central concept in His Dark Materials. Once more, Pullman has crafted an interesting, well-written mystery that combines science (in this case botany) with the fantastic. Prosecuted and increasingly entangled in incomprehensible mysteries, Lyra must once again rely on her inventiveness to survive. Following her in her dangerous journey, we discover new aspects of her world – one that is parallel but different to our own.
This world, already complete and full of wonder in His Dark Materials is greatly expanded. We visit different locations, from Prague to Asia Minor and meet characters from different backgrounds, adding diversity compared to the previous books’ focus on England and the North. Moreover, The Secret Commonwealth focuses on a previously unseen group of people: those who have been separated from their demons, forcibly or voluntarily, but are still functional, though rejected by society at large. This condition, more common than His Dark Materials would have us think, is used to explore real-life issues such as mental illness, exclusion and fear of the unknown. The backstories of minor characters who are afflicted in this way adds a nice touch to the main plot.
At over 650 pages, The Secret Commonwealth might be a slow read for some, especially since the many point-of-view characters, ranging from mains we already know, such as Lyra, Pan and Malcolm, to minor characters, might initially be confusing. This is particularly true since the main villains, who also get point-of-view passages, can read a bit as interchangeable and decidedly less memorable compared to the terrifying Mrs Coulter and the ambiguous Lord Asriel.
Still, the constant suspense and dangers Lyra and Malcolm navigate make the book increasingly hard to put down. The writing is beautiful, and concepts such as imagination and scepticism are explored in poetic yet digestible ways. The one possible drawback is that while His Dark Materials had its dark moments, the narrative was riddled with the joy Lyra derived from her travels. This, and Pullman’s subtlety, meant that younger readers could still enjoy the trilogy and simply understand any age-inappropriate parts when older. In comparison, the mood of The Secret Commonwealth is more sombre, influenced by the adult Lyra’s struggles. Of course, as a main character grows, their problems are likely to become increasingly mature, and given all that Lyra’s gone through, her anguish is very believable. It should be noted, however, that this book is definitely not suitable for children. Apart from sexuality, discussed subtly but still more explicitly than in His Dark Materials, the book also contains triggering scenes including sexual assault. The hints of a possible romance between two characters with a big age difference might also be disturbing to some. This is not yet explicit, but it does seem a bit unnecessary so far, so we can only wait and see how this is going to unfold in book 3.
Speaking of which, for those enjoyed The Secret Commonwealth, book 3 – which doesn’t have a release date yet – can’t come out soon enough. In true Subtle Knife fashion (also a second book!) the ending of The Secret Commonwealth is ambiguous and little is resolved. Hopefully, the final instalment will give us a satisfying conclusion. Be prepared, though. Since this is Philip Pullman we are talking about, some heartbreak might as well be expected.
Although it has its pitfalls and lacks much of the original trilogy’s playfulness, The Secret Commonwealth is a highly imaginative, memorable book that expands Lyra’s world in believable ways. It might be a more enjoyable read for people who already loved Pullman’s work and eagerly awaited any new content, but even on its own, The Secret Commonwealth is an impressive literary achievement that leaves the reader wanting more.
The Secret Commonwealth is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
It is twenty years since the events of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One unfolded and saw the baby Lyra Belacqua begin her life-changing journey.
It is seven years since readers left Lyra and the love of her young life, Will Parry, on a park bench in Oxford’s Botanic Gardens at the end of the ground-breaking, bestselling His Dark Materials sequence.
Now, in The Secret Commonwealth, we meet Lyra Silvertongue. And she is no longer a child . . .
The second volume of Sir Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust sees Lyra, now twenty years old, and her daemon Pantalaimon, forced to navigate their relationship in a way they could never have imagined, and drawn into the complex and dangerous factions of a world that they had no idea existed.
Pulled along on his own journey too is Malcolm; once a boy with a boat and a mission to save a baby from the flood, now a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right.
Theirs is a world at once familiar and extraordinary, and they must travel far beyond the edges of Oxford, across Europe and into Asia, in search for what is lost – a city haunted by daemons, a secret at the heart of a desert, and the mystery of the elusive Dust.
